Padlock



P 1943- H. G. VOIGHT 2,330,765

BADLOCK Filed Aug. 14. 1942 Patented Sept. 28, 1943 i;

UNITED STATES.

PATEN' OFFICE .4 Claims. (Cl,,"70-.-3.8)

This invention relates to padlocks more particularly made up of a plurality of plates or laminated sections superposed oneon the other to construct the body or case of the lock.

' In the construction of a padlock from laminated or superposed plates or sections, some difficulty has heretofore been encountered in the assembling of the parts of the lock. Such a loek may, of COllTSe,b8 made very economically as the elements from which the case is constructed "may be fabricated by stamping operations from flat stock. While these parts maybe readily assembled and secured together, there are certain movable elements Which'go to makeup the lock which must either be put into place during the assembly of the plates, or, if possible, installed thereafter. One of these parts is the shackle which is mounted for reciprocation in the lock case, but which should be secured against complete detachment when it is in unlocked position."

Usually it has been the custom in a lock of this kind to insert the shackle during the assembly of the lock body, and secure it in place by a pin or similar element which must be driven into place while the lock sections are held in assembled relation.

One object of the present invention is to providea lock the parts of which may be easily asse bl d. and to o ide fo he i on of' e shackle into the lock case after the latter has been completely assembled.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a padlock having a case constructed of superposed'plate-like sections forming the lock body, into which body the shackle may be inserted after the sections have been assembled, and to provide means for automatically securing the shackle against detachment from the bodyof the lock upon its insertion therein. f

A still further object of the invention is to provide a padlock of the character described having a spring-pressed shackle-latching member mounted therein and adapted to be protracted "into the shackle opening, whereby the shackle may be inserted in this opening and thereafter retained by the latching member against complete detachment from the body of the lock.

Fig. 4 isa sectional view on line 44 of Fig.2;

Figsfi andi fi are, respectively; sectional views on lines 5-e5 and 6.-6 ofFig. 4

Figsfll, 8 and 9 are detail plan views of certain .of the laminated sections from which the lock is made; i

' Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of thelockin Fig. .11 is a bottom plan view of the bolt shown in Fig. (10. p

'I'o illustrate-a preferred embodiment of my inventioml have shown a locklcomprising a body ll] made up of a plurality of laminated sections which will .be described in detail hereinafter. These sections are aswill be explained, of various conformations with rcspectto the openings therein to receive the working partsof the lock. It will be understood that the plates are all of the same outline, however, so that when superposed and firmlysecured together under pressure, if desired, the outer surface of the lock will have a smooth outline. l In the present instance the bolt of the lock is designed to be operated. by a pin tumbler loclsing mechanism and the plates are arranged to receive a structure of this kind. It will be understoodhowever, that the lock is not limited to .a locking mechanism of this character. This -mechanism comprises the usual key barrel H rotatably mounted within a case 12 having a pin tumblerlextension I3 and a projecting pin l4 mounted eccentrically on the upper end of the key barrel. These parts may be of the usual form found in pin tumbler locks.

The shackle l5 of the. lock is of the usual U- shaped form adapted to be inserted in openings in the case, the shackle being provided with recesses Hi to receive the ends of an oscillatable bolt I! in order to lock the. shackle within the case. One leg of the shackle is longer than the other, as shown at Land is urged upwardly by a spring i9 seated in the'lower end of the shackle opening in the case. This leg of the shackle is provided with a recess or cut-away portion 20 in one side thereof, and with an annular recess 2i and a lower head- 22 below this recess, the lower portion of which is! beveled, as shown at 23.

The body of the look, as. stated, is: made up of a plurality of laminated plates, which will now be described. The lower of these plates, a, is: provided witha single centrally disposed opening to receive the outer end of the key barrel II, as shown in Figs; 3' and 4. Above this are a group of plates identicat in form designated by the reference character b, and shown in Fig 9: ofthe Above the plate is a plate (1, shown in Fig. 6

of the drawing. Beside being provided with shackle openings 25, this plate is, provided with anopening 29 of irregular shape, which opening communicates with one of the shackle openings 25. The pin M on the upper end of the key barrel extends into the opening 29, and also pivotally mounted in the opening 29 is a shackle-latching member 33 pivoted upon the pin 28, previously :described. Reacting against the sides of the opening 29 is a spring 3 I, one leg of which presses against the latch 30 to urge it toward the leg of the shackle. As will be seen from Fig. 4, this "latching member will be" projected by the spring 3| into the cut-away portion 20 of the shackle, so than-while it permits longitudinal movement of this leg of the shackle as limited by the length 'of'this recess or cut-away portion thereof, .it will, when the shackle is projected upwardly by the spring :l9,.engage'the head 22 and prevent the complete detachment of the shackle from the :case.

l The upper face of the latchmember 3B is beveled adjacent the edge thereof whichlies against enter its opening. After the head 22 has passed below the latching member 30, the latter will be immediately projected by its spring into the recess or cut-away portion 20.

Above the plate d are a pair of plates c of the .iorm shown in Fig. 7, these plates being provided with shackle openings 25 and with a central openingxSil to receive the hub 35 of the locking bolt and mount the latter for rotatable movem'ent,as will be more fully described hereinafter. 'Above "the plates e are a pair of plates j, shown in Fig. 5, these plates having openings 36 of irregular shape to receive for oscillating movement the lockboltl'l.

This lock bolt, as shown more particularly in Figs. 5, l0 and 11, may itself be made up of laminated plates, although the method of its .manufacture may be varied if desired. It is provided with a central hub portion 35, .and projecting wing or bolt portionsrill-designed to' extend outwardly from the hub portion andengage within the notches or recesses IE of the shackle l5. A spring 38 mounted in the. openlugs 35 of the plates 1 normally urges the" bolt into locking position, as shown in Fig. 5. The hub 35 of the bolt is provided witha notch or recess 39 within which stands the pin l4, so that when the key barrel is rotated or oscillated the bolt will be caused. to oscillate and will be moved into theenlarged corners ofv the, opening; 33 out of engagement with the legs of the shacklef, .1 The case of the lock is then completed by; the

-;t-w0 upper plates ,g-:(Fig.-2), which are merely provided with openings 25 to receive the legs of the shackle. The parts of the case may be secured together by rivets 40 adjacent the four corners thereof, each of the plates being provid- 5 ed with openings 4| to receive such rivets.

In the assembly of the parts, the lock case I2 is placed upon the lower plate a, with the lower portion of the key barrel I] received in the opening in this plate. The upper plates are then placed thereon until the plate (1 is reached, at which time the latch member 30 is placed in the opening 29 on the pin 28, and the spring 3| is also placed in position, as shown in Fig. 6. At this time the spring 19 may be dropped into the lower end of the shackle opening. The plates e and j are next superposed upon the plate d, and the bolt I! placed in position in the opening 38, as is also the spring 38. The case is then completed by the two upper plates g, and the plates 20 are then riveted together under pressure, if desired,; so as to provide a lock case having the -same cross-sectional conformation as the outline of the plates themselves, and having a smooth exterior surface,

After the lock body has been completely as- ,sernbled, as explained above, the shackle may be inserted into the shackle openings 25. The bolt ll -may be rotated to inoperative position by the key, not shown, so that the shackle opening will-be unobstructed until the beveled edge 23 of the head 22 on the longer leg of the shackle strikes the bevelededge 32 of the shackle latch member 30, The latch member will be cammed inwardly, thus permitting the head 22 of the shackle to pass below the latch 30, at which time -the latter will move outwardly under influence of the spring 3| into the notch or cutaway portion 2!! on the longer leg of the shackle. The lock is .now completely assembled, and if it is desire'dto lock the same the shackle is rotated until the shorter end stands above the shackle .opening 25-adapted to receive it,.at which time the-shackle is pressed inwardlyagainst the action of the spring [9 .in the usual manner.

, When the shackle reaches the position at which the notches l6 lie opposite the wings 31 of the bolt 11, thelatter will be.urged by the spring 38 .intothese; notches, as shown in full lines in Fig.

5, thus locking both legs of the shackle in place.

,. When the key barrelisrotated in a direction to unlock the shackle, the .pin .14 engaging the edge of the notch 39 inhub 35 of the bolt ll will oscillate the bolt, and thus swingthe wings 3'! to aposition torelease the shackle, allowing the latter to be propelledflupwardly by the spring l9 ,until the upper surface of the head 22 strikes againstthelatch member 35, thus arresting the Joutwardmovementbf theshackle. In this position the latch member 30 lies within the annular recess2 I, so that the shackle may be retated 'about its longer leg. It may be noted from inspection of Figs. 5 and fithat the flat side of'the recess-2H is at a slightangle with respect to, the flat sidev of. the recess .16 on the longer legof the'shackle, so that when the shackle is open andis turned to a position in which it-maybe closed, where the shorter leg lies opposite its opening 25, the engaging endsof the boltv ILwhich at that time'eng'age the longer leg of 'the shac kle, will beheld in an inoperative position by the rounded portion of the shackle leg, thus permitting easy insertion of the short end of the shackleinto its opening 25. While I have shown anddescribed a preferred embodiment-of my invention, it will be underprovided stood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A padlock comprising a case comprising a plurality of superposed plates, a shackle cooperating with the case and having one leg longer than the other, a locking element engaging the shackle to hold it in locked position, and means to prevent detachment of the shackle from the case when the former is unlocked, said means comprising a member pivoted on one of said plates to swing parallel with the surface thereof below the locking-member, and a shoulder on the longer leg of the shackle with which said member engages.

2. A padlock having a case comprising a plurality of laminated plates superposed one on the other and secured together, said plates being with registering shackle -receiving openings, a locking bolt movab-ly mounted in the case, a shackle insertable into said openings after assembly of the plates, and latching means carried by one of said plates and disposed in an opening in an adjacent plate and automatically moved into engagement with the shackle after insertion thereof to prevent detachment of the shackle from the case when the shackle is in unlocked position.

3. A padlock having a case comprising a plurality of laminated plates superposed one on the other and secured together, said plates being provided with registering shackle receiving openings, a locking bolt movably mounted in the case, a shackle insertable into said openings after assembly of the plates, one of said plates having an opening communicating with the shackle opening, and means within said opening automatically moved into engagement with the shackle after insertion thereof to prevent detachment of the shackle from the, case when the shackle is in unlocked position, said means comprising a latch member pivoted to an adjacent plate and spring pressed toward the shack e.

4. A padlock having a case comprising a plurality of laminated platessuperposed one on the other and secured together, said plates being provided with registering shackle receiving openings, a locking bolt movably mounted in the case, a shackle insertable into said openings after assembly of the plates, and means auto matically moved into engagement with the shackle after insertion thereof to prevent detachment of the shackle from the case when the shackle is in unlocked position, said means comprising a latch member pivoted to one plate and lying within an opening in an adjacent plate and spring pressed toward the shackle, and said latch member and shackle having co-acting portions effective to cam said member out of the path of the shackle during the insertion of the latter.

HENRY G. VOIGI-IT. 

